A22-Wednesday, May 7, 1980 - North Shore News ETHNIC DISPUTE LEADS TO SECESSION DEMANDS Lawmakers in India warn of civil war threat By S.G. ROY NEW DELHI, India (UPI) - A bitter ethnic conflict in the landlocked state of Assam, 1,500 miles east of New Delhi, is snowballing into demands for secession. The dispute, which already has claimed 80 lives, could engulf the entire northeast region of India uniess Prime Minister India Gandhi tackles it quickly and skillfully. Having first sent in Indian troops, she flew into the capital of Assam in April for talks with the = militant students who rejected her proposals. A number of clashes between demon- strators and authonties have since been reported. Assam is surrounded by other tribal states seething with extremists demanding national self-determination. At stake immediately is the faltering Indian economy. Assam produces 30 per cent of India’s oil. Stability there is crucial to the nation’s energy situation, already in crisis. The conflict in Assam centers around a long- sianding controversy bet- ween the local Assamese people and migrant settlers, snostly Bengalis. The Assamese are proud of the ancestry from Burma's @_ Gi capilano ¢ am © lege WORD PROCESSING SUMMER SPECIAL ’ There is space available for six students interested in hands-one experience in WORD PROCESSING Course includes practice on IBM - Memory and Mag il Starting May 12 4 Session Mon & Wed 7-10 00 pm Room C112 Lynnmour Campus For further information & Registration Instructions CALL 986-1911 LOCAL 321 Shan tribes in the Upper Irrawady River Valley and Thailand, then known as Siam. When the British conquered Assam in_ the early 19th century, they opened the virgin coun- tryside to farmers. of neighboring Bengal, which then consisted of Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal State. The migration of Bengali farmers and labor continued for generations and did not stop even after the Indian subcontinent became in- dependent 32 years ago as two nations, Pakistan and India. The peace-loving Assamese did not initially care much about hundreds of thousands of Bengalis setthng their state. They themselves were not cultivating much of the land. But they became restive when New Delhi began to carve oul separate states and territories from Assam _ to satifsy the aspirations of tribesmen, some of whom became militant. Between 1963 and 1972, Assam's terntory shrank by nearly a half, to 30,239 square miles, as a result of the creation of the separate states of Nagaland and Meghalaya and_ federal terntory of Mizoram. The Assamese fear the large migrant Bengal: population — in one district of Assam the Bengalis are a majority — may force another division of their state. Agitation against the Bengalis burst into riots and viclence five months ago, shortly before the January Mational elections’ that returned Mrs. Gandhi to power. Assam students, who spearheaded the agitanon. demanded all Bengalis who settled in Assam from 1951 be declared foreigners and deported. Fee $75 Agitation swept Assam and local politicians were compelled to boycott the elections, which were postponed indefinitely in Assam. Agitation did not stop there. Squads of students armed with swords, spears, gasoline cans and bamboo sticks stormed villages to strike terror into hearts of the Bengali settlers. Secessionist movements have existed in_ India’s landlocked northeastern region, the size of Wyoming, ever since the country became independent. It is linked to the rest of India only by a 16-mile-wide strip of land separating Bangladesh and China's Tibet. A single railway and one main national highway pass through the strip. The regions Mongol! tribesmen have little in common with the Indian people in culture and social habits. Rebel tribesmen — the Naga and Mizo — have battled and ambushed In- dian army troops over the years. Naga guerrillas have training and arms from China, the Mizo got arms and training from East Pakistan before it became independent Bangladesh. There are reports that extremist Assamese students have joined with the Naga and Mizo rebels in a cam- _paign for independence of ' situation could lead to civil - Paul Murphy the entire northeast region. Lawmakers have said the war, previously dependent India. warning not heard in = in- CORRECTION In our “Best to Mom” Circular Sale dates May 8th - 10th page 4, selling price for the fashion note pad and envelopes should read 59¢ not 99¢. We are sorry for any inconvenience to our customers. CLs 1175 Lynn Valley Rd. North Vancouver. Mathematics Tutorial Service We have B.C. 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